Jambs foster



uNirEn STATES PATENT @FFICE' JAMES FOSTER, JR., or GINCINNAT, oHIo,AssIGNoR To PLATT EvENs, JR.

'SEAL-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,554, dated February 21, 1854.

To all whom t may concern.' p

Be it known that I, JAMES FOSTER, .I r., of Cincinnati, Hamilton county,Ohio, have invented an Improvement in Seal-Presses, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the annexed drawings.

In all the presses hitherto known and used for stamping letters, books,packages, oficial and legal documents, etc, the pressure has been madeby either the screw or lever, and such presses' have been expensive andgenerally very heavy. Stamps have been used without a frame or bed-platein which the stamp was either' brought down by a quick movement of thehand or when down was struck by a sudden blow from the hand. Presses forstamping metals have been made so that a blow from a hammer would bymeans of a die make the desired impression, but such could not be usedfor the purpose Aof my press, nor be possessed of the samey Forinstance,

and facility of using, specially adapting it to the use of notariespublic when called out to take the acknowledgment of deeds, &c., as itcan be carried in the pocket without any inconvenience, thereby savingtime and trouble to themselves and others. Its lightness and itsprinciples of construction and operation give it the two-fold merit andcharacter of a press and paper weight. The pressure requisite to producea clean and sharp impression upon paper with a die and counterdie inmost seal presses of the lever and screw kind amounts to nearly one ton.The proper stability of fulcrum must of course be found for this greatstrain and of lnecessity such presses have been heavy and expensive, andtheir use has not extended beyond official and legal papers. The sameamount of pressure is requisite in my press, but no such fulcrum isneeded, and the great weight of the parts needed for its support aredispensed with. 'As I construct and use it, this powerful pressure isattained bya blow from the hand', upon which it reacts, and such aslight blow that it may be repeated with great frequency and a greatnumber of times without pain or inconvenience to.

the hand or arm, while at the same time the form given to the press andits size and weight are such that it makes an excellent paper weightforthe desk or table, and this ycircumstance determines somewhat of itsreal value as a seal press, for itmust always be at hand and where it ismost likely to be needed-viz., on the desk or table. The only very nicemechanical point to be attended t-o in my press is to insure an accurateand at the same time easy fit ofthe piston rod in its bearings or boxesand a bearing that will endure for a long time, which bearing may bemade with a groove in a circular piston or by making the piston in asquare, octagonal, oval, oblong, or any other form presenting surfacesand angles on its surface with corresponding angles or surfaces in thesurrounding boxes or its equivalent to prevent a side shake, for in caseof the use of a counter die, if the piston has any side shake, the diewill soon be ruined. This Il provide for by using antifriction metalboxes, so that when once started with a good iit it will last a greatlength of time. Although antifriction boxes or bushings are very common,they have a special meaning and advantage in my press for in the leverand screw seal presses whatever wear takes vplace is in some particulardirection and may be guarded against ,but in my press the blow beingmade in every possible directionAY the box or bushing must be of themost durable character, and to prevent any loss of power from the blowof the hand the fit of the piston must be such that it may have freedomof motion, while at the same time it is required to be very accurate.These conditions are best attained by antifriction boxes. I sometimesuse the press without a counter die; but commonly with a counter die,and have `found that with a counter die the antifriction box isnecessary, for without it no matter how good the lit may be the presswill wear out and be ruined in a short time.

Prior to my invention the use of seal presses was exceedingly limited,but since my iirst attempt to procure Letters Patent for the same itsgreat practical worth and economy have been fully recognized, businessmen and others finding it very ,economical for marking their papers,books, documents, envelops, etc.

Figure `1 is an outline 'drawing ofV the press. of full size. Fig. 3 isa horizontal cross section of the piston, showing the groove in thepiston.

I make a metallic frame which is ordi narily cast of iron, having twoarms B, C, and a base of the size and thickness represented. In thesetwo arms are the antifriction boxes in which the piston D plays. Thispiston has a groove E cut on one side, which receives the projections F,from antifriction boxes, serving to keep the piston always in the rightposition for the matching of the die and counter die. Between the arms Band C there is a spiral spring Gr, operating to keep the piston up andto raise it after the blow has been struck. The die is usually attachedto the piston by a screw. The counter die is represented by H on thebase of the press. Upon the top of the piston is a knob I, which is of arounded form suitable to be struck by the hand without inconvenience ofor pain.

Fig. 2 isa perspective of the same,

For the antifriction boxes I employ the well known Babbitt metal orother antifriction metal.

I-Iaving thus described my percussion seal press, I will state that I donot claim substituting percussive force for pressure in pressesgenerally, nor eve-n in seal presses, nor do I claim returning thepiston or die of a Vpress with a spring, but

I do claim as my invention and improvement in seal presses,

The combination of the `following elements or their equivalents, to wit:a :frame work to sustain the boXes and guides for the piston, a springpiston bearing the die and surmounted by a knob or suitable provisionfor receiving the blow of the hand and guided by the grooveand guidepieces, or their equivalents,VY substantially `in the manner and for thepurposes set forth.

` JAMES FOSTER, JUNR. Witnesses:

J. i M. WiLsoN, F. W. HOWARD.

